Tear In Your Hand
by Fairly Odd New Yorker
Summary: When Sandra Clemens meets Randall Boggs, she gets overly curious about his past and swallows more than she can chew. But can she learn to trust him enough to help clear him of a crime he didn't commit? DISCONTINUED
1. Annoyance And Embarassment

**_

* * *

Tear In Your Hand

* * *

_**

**(A/N)**- My first ever Monsters, Inc. fic! I hope you like it. Title doesn't make sense now, but it will later. Don't expect a quick update, I'm still working on my Lion King fanfiction. Reviews are greatly appreciated! :) Title is based on the song by Tori Amos.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but Sandra Clemons, Chris Wazowski makes strangling motion, and cute little Eddie :-)

* * *

**_Chapter 1: Annoyance and Embarassment_**

* * *

**----**

Randall Boggs had finally left the southern swamp of Louisiana. But when he found out what happened to Monsters Incorporated since he had left ... well; let's just say he didn't become one of the Laughers. James P. Sullivan and he didn't become allies, but they formed a truce. Randall was never to tell anyone about the illegal banishment and Sullivan let him stay. He had become a janitor though; he said he'd much rather be that than be making human children laugh his entire life. Inwardly, the fact that he was much too scary for the position had made him not want to try at all. He'd be the only one on the Laugh Floor filling canisters with scream instead of laugh power. Besides, he and Sulley worked out a double-pay deal since Randall could use the extra cash.

Things weren't quite as they were, but at least much was back to normal again. Anything was better than a Hillbilly's gator-infested swamp.

It was the end of the day, and everyone was heading home. But since he was a janitor now, he had at least another couple of hours till he was out of here.

"Hey lizard-freak, why don't you get a job at the zoo?" a voice asked; a monster child.

Randall quickly vanished, looking around for the owner of the voice. Then another spoke; it seemed to be coming from around the corner.

A low, deadly chuckle was heard, it was definitely female.

"Listen kids, where I've been zoos have guys like _you_ on display."

They came into view, and Randall saw a small monster-boy, who looked like a purple Mike Wazowski. He was obviously Mike and Celia's kid. He had three other monster kids following him.

The one they were teasing was a young woman, definitely reptilian. She had a narrow face, that looked partially chameleon, but her eyes were not like Randall's; they were wide with a red cornea and black pupil. She had a purple stripe between her two eyes, which ended at her nose and atop her skull she had four fronds, but they looked rather sharper than Randall's, like red quills thinning out on the ends with a dark blue color. She was wearing a black v-neck t-shirt, and her underbelly was a pale yellow.

The only plain difference besides her face was the fact that she had only one pair of arms. And unlike Randall's three-toed gecko appearance, she had manicured claws that clicked on the tiles as she walked. The scales on her back, legs, arms, and face, were all a dark purple, which lightened to a silvery purple as it neared her face. Her tail was curled like Randall's, too.

"Nuh-uh! You wouldn't know; my Dad says you were too creepy to be on the Laugh Floor, so that means you've never been in the human world at all!" Mike's kid said in a know-it-all voice.

She laughed again, walking over to a water fountain and filling her sports-bottle with it.

"Listen, Chris, if you had half a mind you would have probably figured that I used to work there when it was a Scare Floor." She said, glaring at her bottle with a loathing stare that was probably supposed to be aimed at the monster-boy who she called Chris.

She grinned mischievously, and suddenly, she went invisible. Randall was surprised for a moment; he never met another reptilian monster who could do that, except for a few of his family members, mostly male.

Her water bottle fell onto the tile floor, its contents cascading slowly around the spot where she was standing a moment ago. Chris gave an instant look of fright as his enormous eye darted around, scanning his surroundings.

She appeared again, this time on the ceiling. She lowered her face as far as she could to the ground below, and when one of the children had caught sight of her, she let out a shrill screech resembling to that of nails on a chalkboard. Her long fangs glistened menacingly under the hall light.

The monster children scattered in fright, screaming and scrambling their way down the hall, disappearing out of sight, though their shrieks still echoed along the empty corridors.

The lizard smiled triumphantly to herself, and picked up her bottle and began to fill it once more. That was when Randall decided to show himself.

"You really should clean that up, you know?" he pointed out to the puddle on the floor. She jumped slightly, but her bottle didn't spill any more, to her relief. Quickly calming down, she narrowed her eyes at him and recognized him almost instantly; he was a janitor.

"You're paid to do it, so you should." She said stiffly, turning her gaze away from him.

He smiled slightly, "You're right." He replied, grabbing his mop. She stepped to the side as she let him clean it up. Looking at his face, she saw a long dark purple scar along his face and several small ones across his chest. She thought of it rude to ask, but it looked as if he had been attacked by something ... something rather big.

"That was ... err ... quite a scare you gave them." He commented.

She nodded, filling her bottle to the brim and releasing the side button on the fountain.

"Thanks," she said, "But that's nothing compared to the grief those twerps will give me tomorrow."

Randall gave a look of confusion, "But they have school, don't they?"

In the middle of taking a gulp of water, she shook her head. Taking it away from her mouth, she replied, "Wazowski's kid's got another year here before he's off to kindergarten. Till then, it seems I'm their pre-school." She said exasperatedly. "I'm in Roz's old position, and I've got them in the back room of my office."

Randall was about to speak when Mike Wazowski's voice was heard from a nearby speaker. "Sandra Clemons, to the front desk, NOW! Thank YOU!!" he shouted; it was obvious that he was rather annoyed.

She sighed "Oh well, got to go. You know my name, thanks to the talking beach ball, so what's yours?" she asked before heading off.

"Uh, Randall Boggs." He replied.

She nodded with a small smile, "Nice to meet you." She said and turned a heel, heading in the direction to her expected fate. At least Celia would be more on her side; she knew very well that her son could be a little brat when given the chance to exceed to that level.

Sandra had really wished she didn't meet him at that time; she'd much rather have someone to talk to around her besides a bowling ball with limbs, and that was only because she had the '_pleasure_' of babysitting the little brat.

She was really starting to consider the janitor job. At least she'd have some kind of a friend named Randall in that department. But she guessed that if he wasn't a lizard, he'd probably tease her about being one like the monster children did.

--

Luckily, it came out good for Sandra, mainly for the fact that Wazowski can't resist his _'Shmoopsie-Poo'_ when she'd try and reason with him. And the last thing he wanted was for her to get angry. She was a real fireball when it came to that, and Sandra had known enough by once catching the two in a battle. Actually, it couldn't be called a battle; Mike would cover in a corner that she scared him to and Celia would shout, red in the face and snakes tails' rattling and hissing to express her point.

It's not like the monster children were a big hassle to care for. She just had her office to make sure Laughers signed in. If they didn't, simple, they were marked absent and it would count against their record. There were no more Assistants; therefore there was no more paperwork. Life being an everyday employee at MI was so simple, everyone wanted to work there. So, new employees rarely came: Mike Wazowski would personally interview every applicant thoroughly. That way only experienced, pardon me, _'Really good'_, as Mike Wazowski had so professionally put it.

Good pay or not, Sandra was fed up with being a mommy for children who had one already. Chris, who was annoyed after being scared out of his wits the other day, was extremely bent on making her life a living hell. After a few times she'd went in there to check on them, after being hit with three building blocks, a toy truck, and being stamped on the toes at least twice, she simply threw in a few boxes of Monster Crackers and locked the door.

That didn't stop the purple eyeball from kicking the door every few seconds. He stopped after fifteen minutes though (Sandra timed it), and as she had foreseen, his foot must've ached too much to continue the annoyance.

Soon after, she heard the quick nervous rapping of a small fist coming from the room. It was followed by a small voice, "Miss Clemons, I need to go potty!" It was Fungus' boy, Eddie. Sighing, she opened the door and picked him up, and locked it again.

"Whatever you do, do _NOT_ go potty on me." She warned. Peering out her office door, she saw that Fungus was busy on the Laugh Floor.

"Okay, your Daddy can't bring you so you'll have to use the girl's bathroom." She said through gritted teeth; she knew what was coming.

"Nuuu!" he whined. "I need to use the boy's bathroom!" He complained, eyes filling with tears. He was the sweetest of all the kids' she baby-sat, so she didn't want to see him upset. She looked back to the Laugh Floor.

"Ugh, alright!" she said finally, "But you'll have to go in the locker room by yourself."

"Nuuu!" he whined again.

"Fine then, no potty." She said; there was no way she was going into the men's room.

"I'm scaared. It's scaary when no one's with me." Eddie whined, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. Not wanting him to 'go' on her, she skittered on all fours as quick as she could to the men's bathroom.

Thankfully, it was empty, but just to be sure she went invisible as Eddie rushed into a bathroom stall. She gave a long sigh of relief, when it was cut short by the thudding of footsteps.

She held her breath, being very grateful that she can turn invisible.

Randall! Oh shoot, she wanted to die right there. That's all she really needed in her life: the only other lizard in Monsters Incorporated who seemed like a nice guy found her in the men's bathroom! That would certainly make her look like a weirdo!! Shoot, double shoot!!

Her eyes widened as a flush was heard, meaning Eddie would come out right ... now. Oh great.

"Miss Clemons?" he called as he exited the stall. He peered around, when he saw Randall at the sink. He froze; obviously Eddie knew 'Miss Clemons' would be embarrassed to be found in this bathroom.

"Hey, you lost kid?" He asked. Eddie _was_ lost, for words. He began to stutter, as he always did when he got way past nervous.

"Err ... I ... uh ....umm ...." He fumbled.

Sandra felt sorry; if it had been Chris he would've blurted it out right then and there, and he would be oh-so-gleeful to do so. Not wanting to leave the kid stuttering all day, she reappeared, preparing for the embarrassment that she would soon endure.

"I'm right here, Ed." She said, and he ran over to her, hugging a foreleg. "I'm done." He said quietly, trying to hide himself from Randall's view.

"Erm, he had to go pot- - to the bathroom, and I had no one to take him, so ..." she tried to explain, Eddie snuggling beside her.

"You're just lucky everyone's on the Laugh Floor right now." He said with a chuckle.

Sandra bit her lip and blushed slightly, but smiled back. Her mind was chanting different cuss words, some much too vulgar to list, and a lot you may know already.

"So, who's this kid?" he asked, looking over at the now trembling monster child.

"This is Eddie. He's always shy, when he doesn't know someone. He's Fungus' kid."

Randall's eyes widened as much as they could, "Fungus?"

She nodded, putting her hand on Eddie's head, trying to calm him, "Yeah. I'm guessing you know him?"

"Fungus was my Scare Assistant ... when I was a Scarer." He recalled. Wow, he thought. Fungus used to be the guy who'd freeze up every time he was around a girl ... now he's a father?

"I was a Scarer too. But you wouldn't see me making a kid laugh, would you? Half the kids I watch are scared of me, and they're monsters." She said, eyes carving a hole in the floor which she should fall through. If only. You wish.

"I gotta bring him back to my office." She said abruptly, rather grateful to have an excuse. The position of being in a men's room talking to a guy, who was truthfully sort of attractive ... it was all too awkward.

"Bye, then," she said, picking Eddie up from under his arms and carried him back to her office. She didn't know if he said goodbye, or anything, but she sped out of there as fast as her reptilian feet could carry them. She couldn't blame Eddie, and she wouldn't, but that had to be the most embarrassing moment in her entire life.

--

"I'm sorry I have to keep Eddie here," Fungus stammered, "I mean, if Betty were home I'd leave him there but since she's got a new job, I don't want to leave him with a babysitter, I mean, I trust you more and everything ..."

It was the end of the day once again, and everyone who had children in her care had already retrieved the little bast- - cough babies. Fungus, as always, was the last one to get his son and he would always apologize over and over about keeping him here.

"Look, Fungus, it's not you who should be apologizing." She said finally, cutting him off where he was going on about him not being around to bond with Eddie. He saw the glare in her eyes as she looked into space, and almost immediately he knew who she was talking about.

"Young Chris Wazowski?" he questioned, already knowing the answer.

"_Again_." She said glumly. "That kid's temper is so foul he has his mother hanging from her tentacles."

Fungus laughed lightly, almost nervously, "Well, he has the sarcasm of his father and the courage of his mother."

Sandra nodded, smoothing back her quill-like fronds. "Oh," she said, just remembering, "I met Randall the other day, and I saw him today, too. Randall Boggs." She saw Fungus' eyes widen suddenly, "He said he knew you ... why do you look so scared?" she asked.

"Randall?" he asked incredulously. "Randall's been gone ever since Waternoose was put in jail! I- well, he never liked me much, really, but are you sure? I thought he was dead! Describe him!"

"Well ..." she paused. "Four arms, four legs ... three fronds on his head ... purple, with a light blue down his back ... err ... gator-like teeth, and he had a bunch of scars on his body." She finished.

Fungus cocked a brow, "Aside from the scars, I'm pretty sure that's him. But how? I thought he was dead!"

"Why, what happened?" she asked.

"No, I can't tell you." He said, adjusting Eddie so that he wouldn't slip out of his clammy hands. "I promised never to ..."

"Come on, Fungus, _tell me_. It can't be that serious!" she exclaimed, losing her patience.

"I can't." was all he said, "Just ... well, for your safety, I mean ... I think you should stay away from him." He said in a grave tone.

"Why?" she asked, getting more and more agitated.

"Just stay away from him." He said seriously, and headed down the hall to the front doors. Sandra watched him till he left the building.

Never, in her entire life, did she ever see Fungus act this way. But she needed to find out, even if it meant asking Randall Boggs directly.

**----**

**(A/N)** - Click that button please! I love reviews! Update will be as soon as possible!

**---**


	2. Best Kept Secret

**

* * *

****Tear In Your Hand**

* * *

**(A/N)**- Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm so happy, because I was going to kill this fic, because I thought it over while I was in school. I thought no one would like it, so instead of enduring flames, I thought to end it then and there. But since I got so many reviews (and I watched Monsters Inc a couple of times) I was inspired to continue it! :-)

Thank you so much,** Beverly**! ((hugs))

She thought of most of the plot, but she didn't want credit, so I'm giving her credit anyway! :-)

Enjoy the new chapter!

**Reviews** fuel my inspiration O.O;!

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Best Kept Secret**

* * *

"Laugh Floor, front desk. Sure, hold on ... Chris!"

Sandra rolled her chair to the door and opened it, only to be greeted by a sea of marbles. The purple cycloptic monster skidded out of the room, grabbing for the phone. She handed it to him, and retreated to the wall so that she wouldn't be the victim of his mess. She waited until he pulled the receiver into the playroom with him, his tentacles making a low plucking sound as he retreated. She hastily swept up the mess.

Today and the days that would follow would be much easier; the only two kids left were Chris and Eddie. The others were on vacation with their families, an early summer break and later on: kindergarten. Her little day-care program would be over- permanently.

But that hadn't changed the fact that Chris would still be here, and since his Dad co-owned the company, it wasn't like she'd never see the brat again. Hopefully Celia or somebody would've straightened him up by first grade.

"Miss Clemons?" someone called. She turned and slipped on a couple of stranded marbles that had hid beside her seat. She quickly scrambled to her feet, and saw that the phone wire had caught itself around the wheels of her chair. She didn't know whether to think that Chris did it or it was her own clumsiness.

"Are you okay?" asked the same voice again. She almost forgot someone was there; now she had to endure more embarrassment. She looked up to see her boss, James P. Sullivan. She wasn't afraid at the sight of him, but peeved for the fact she couldn't have watched her footing, just that one time.

"Never better. I ... had meant to do it. It's a game Chris and I play ... I trip you, you trip me ... heh, and its fun really, you should try it." She said, with a very convincing laugh.

"_Right_ ..." he said slowly. 'Great, now he probably thinks I'm PSYCHO!' Sandra heard herself shouting at her in her head.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to be an applicant for a spot on the Laugh Floor." He announced.

"Nope, sorry." She replied. Now she thought he was psycho. How many times she told him ... tell him again, "I'm way too scary, boss." She pointed out, and added something new "You'll be filling up Scream power rather than Laughter."

Sullivan chuckled, "Yeah, I guess you're right. A friend of mine said the same thing." He said with a warm smile. "Well, if you'd like to apply for the secretary job you can; Celia decided to stay home for Chris till he's through grade school." He added, and this news made Sandra's eyes brighten.

"You mean it? Cool! I mean," she paused, getting a hold of herself. "It would be great to have her job." She finished, smiling. She could barely contain the excitement inside her: that was how badly she wanted out of this smelly old office.

"Okay, umm, you can talk to Mike later and discuss it." He said; he was slightly scared of her abrupt change in behavior.

She nodded, "Sure." When her boss disappeared out of sight, she gave a happy leap into the air. But, of course, she fell flat on her stomach. But she didn't let that get her down; and she physically couldn't get any lower than the floor.

She crawled into the playroom and gave Chris a rib cracking hug. The youngster burst into tears from his own bewilderment and confusion. Eddie merely dropped his building blocks. The sight of her being so happy was even a surprise to him, and seeing Miss Clemons hug the child she hated like a bad itch ... that took squinting and blinking a few times just to prove it wasn't a dream.

---

When her first day at her new job started, she hated it. She was so close to cussing at a few people on the phone; she got a few loiterers to flee when she screamed, "Stop bugging me! I dare you! Just gimme your address and I'll show you a SICK DAY!!!"

It was only when Celia had called that her temper quickly died down. And that was because Eyeball was in trouble. _Big_ trouble. And if only Mike didn't act so cheery, as if his wife and son were coming to surprise him.

And Sandra was thankful that the situation had nothing to do with her. _Very_ thankful.

"Hello Shmoopsie-Poo!" he said happily, not hinting the glare that was in his wife's eye.

"And how's my little tiger?" he said, rubbing his son on the head.

"Michael _Wazowski._" Celia started. Oh no; the full name. Not '_Googley Bear_', his pet name she called him lovingly ... but the full name. His smile slowly faded.

"If I've told you once I've told you a _thousand times_," her anger grew and her voice got higher as she spoke. "Do _not_ leave your odorant in reach of children!" she shouted. Mike cowered now, with a face that was pleading for mercy.

"And if you've _noticed_, your son is now burping bubbles that smell like WET DOG!" she bellowed. Chris immediately forced a burp (as if on cue), and there was the proof: a floating bubble that had a sickly grey color. It pooped suddenly with an odd whistling sound.

"I'm sorry, honey!" Mike pleaded. "I know! I'll take off from work and bring you and Chris to Monster Burger!" he suggested. Chris suddenly brightened, but his Mom quickly crushed that idea.

"Oh, _no you don't_! _We're _going home, and _you're_ paying the medical bill!" she finished, handing her husband the bill and storming out of the building, with Chris whining about a Happy Toy.

Sandra couldn't see how much it was, but Mike did. And he let out a loud '_Yipe!'_' and he looked as if he was losing his balance as he headed back to his office, biting his nails nervously and looking over the bill again and again. As if it would suddenly disappear.

Thankfully many calls came in the morning, rarely in the afternoon, and Sandra sat at her desk in comfort, trying to hide her look of amusement that itched to cross her face.

It's not as if she loved seeing Mike in vain, or pain. ... Alright, she did. But that was only because he had made her a laughing stock in Monster Middle School. And revenge was sweet, at any age.

---

Fungus came around to talk to her a while before quitting time, and she took this time to try and convince him to tell her why she should avoid Randall. And he was still _resisting_.

"Fungus, it can't be that bad. And if it is, maybe you should tell the M.P.P.D." She pointed out. That was 'Monstro Polis Police Department.

"No, it isn't that bad, it's just not worth telling you." Fungus said, nervously adjusting his three-eyed glasses, "It's over, it's in the past, and Mr. Sullivan trusts Randall now."

"So, if it's over, why don't you just _tell me_?" she said, gritting her teeth. She really hated to pry things out of people. Why couldn't he see that he can save his breath if he just told her now? He knew just as much as her that she'd get it out of him sooner or later.

Well, now she knew Sullivan was involved, so she made a mental note to bug him about it later if she could resist playing keep-away with Fungus' glasses.

Fungus looked kind of worried, and he said quietly, "I just think it's ... too hard for me to recall it ..."

"Oh, come on! It wasn't_ that_ bad!"

Fungus instantly recognized that voice and let out a girlish scream and shielded himself with his clipboard. Randall, who was standing behind him, rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest, all four of them.

Sandra then turned the question on Randall. "_Fine_. If it wasn't that bad, why don't you tell me and end my curiosity for good."

He sneered, "Look, just keep out of other monsters' business, nosey-body." He said rather restlessly. Before she could fight back, he turned and left.

She sat there, staring at him with a loathing dislike till he disappeared around the corner. Fungus was flinching, still shivering in fear behind his clipboard. Sandra sighed heavily.

"He's _gone_, Fungus." She said flatly, and he slowly got out from underneath his 'shield'. He was breathing rather rapidly, but he managed to say, "I ... I knew that. I was ... just making sure ..."

---

The next day, Sandra decided to play hooky. But it really isn't smart to do it in the same building your job is located in. But she only skipped around 12:00 pm, when calls would come only very rarely.

Besides, Sullivan was busy showing Boo (whose real name is Beverly) around Monsters, Inc. Sandra had already met her when she was at her desk, and she looked rather sweet, but also sort of scared of her.

During her lifetime, Sandra Clemons came to her conclusion. Why do others fear reptilian monsters most of all? _Because_ most can turn invisible. _Because_ many can blend into their surroundings. _Because_ they always have a rather scary appearance. And many lizards were on Monstropolis' Most Wanted. But _that_ was beside the point.

All monsters have their abilities and their choices. Whether they use it correctly or not, it shouldn't reflect others of that species.

And she was very mad when others judged her on her appearance. Or even if she did look sweet and kind, many monsters can never look past the fact that she is a reptile. And reptiles have reputations.

Besides her obnoxious little cloud of curiosity and 'nosey-body-ness' (that Randall had said, ever so kindly) ... well, she really didn't have any other excuse as to why she wanted to know ... but can you blame her? Her life is as boring as noodles without toppings! And that was putting it mildly.

Randall seemed to have a short temper. And short tempers were fun to poke at ... sometimes.

Anyways, so she did skip her own job to annoy this short-tempered lizard.

She crawled steadily along the ceiling above Randall as he rolled an empty garbage can along the hallways to the Scare- - excuse me, Laugh Floors. _Geez_, she thought that she was done tripping over that name.

She continued to crawl along, head inclined to watch her 'prey'. It was times like these she was happy to be able to turn invisible. CRUNCH!

She looked sharply at her claws. She gulped when she realized: she was on the crappy ceiling 'tile'. It was made of some sort of foam. What's more, it wasn't very stable. And her sharp claws were dug in too deep ...

In a flash, she fell right on top of Randall, knocking over the garbage can, (thank you emptiness!) and the piece of ceiling smacked her right in the face.

"Ow." was all she could say, or groan for that matter. Randall slipped out from underneath Sandra and the shattered pieces of foam-stuff. He scowled when he saw who it was; not like he wasn't angry enough already.

"_You_ again?" he asked, "Why are you following me?"

"You know why." She said simply. He turned around sharply, as if he heard something. Then, in the next second, he went to blend in with the white wall, but ended up with red polka dots. Sandra blinked- was he faking it? Or did he have trouble blending?

He groaned furiously, and then tensed his muscles again and he was invisible. "Randall?" she called, looking around. She then felt someone's hands cover her mouth. Cold, scaly, three fingered hands. Well, she couldn't see them, but she could feel them. She then heard voices, one distinctly being Mike's.

She panicked, and tried to break free from his grasp. He released her mouth, but held his hand firmly on her arm. "Hide." He said urgently. The voices grew louder.

"Huh?" she asked thin air.

"Just do it. _Trust me_." He said, and the owners of the voices came into view. She quickly went invisible, and looked to her side. She could see an outline of Randall, and he quickly put a finger to his lips. Well, technically they don't have lips, but you get the concept.

She looked down the hall. Mike, Sullivan, and Boo were heading down the hallway. Boo was in Sullivan's arms, her face red; clearly from crying. Sullivan was trying to comfort his little friend, while Mike was rambling on, obviously angry, and she had a gut feeling it wasn't about the medical bill.

"You never should've trusted that Lizard-Boy." He said in a low voice. "Now look what's happened! If we can't find Jake in less than a day, Boo's parents are going to get worried! What are we going to do??" he asked urgently, on the verge of panic.

"Alright, let's just calm down." Sullivan said softly, trying to comfort both Boo and his best buddy. "We can't just accuse Randall when we have no proof."

"Who needs proof?" Mike exclaimed, throwing his hands up, "Who's heartless enough to _kidnap_ children? Who's _done it before_??"

Sandra's eyes widened as she looked over to Randall, but he pretended not to notice. He was too busy fixing his angry glare on Wazowski.

"Calm down, we'll just talk to him later and if he denies it, we could send for a lie-detector. But I highly doubt it's him, Mike. You saw him when he came back from that swamp. He was in the hospital for weeks."

Sandra had suddenly wished she wasn't a nosey-body about Randall. There were some things best kept secret. And Randall was lucky that everyone else was on lunch break.

"Oh sure, possibly_ scheming_ his next attack!" Mike said in a low, deadly tone.

Sullivan sighed in exhaustion. Nothing could ever make Mike listen, when it came to Randall at least.

When they were out of sight, the two lizards returned to their original form. Sandra looked at Randall as if she didn't recognize him. Or even know him ... well, she never really _got_ to know him, but she didn't want to find out more about him this way.

"I'm sorry," was all she could choke out at the moment.

"It's not your fault ..." he said slowly, looking away from her. "I mean ... I _do_ look like I'm hiding something sometimes ... I usually give that impression, but ..." he left his sentence hanging.

Sandra felt rather sorry for him. Even though he was a jerk before ... but she had to know his side of the story, "So ... did you ..."

Randall knew what she was going to ask before she could finish. "No. Not this time."

"You mean," Sandra started, wide-eyed, "You _did_ do it the first time?"

Randall smoothed back his fronds in frustration.

"Yeah, but ... I gotta go ..."

When he walked off, Sandra didn't bother to press on. Sometimes things were best kept secret.

------

**(A/N)-** Review! :) Again, I thank everyone who reviewed, you guys really boosted my confidence! X)


End file.
